Canada Elections Act (S.C. 2000, c. 9)

Reimbursement of Certain Expenses

Marginal note:Reimbursement — first instalment

• 477.73 (1) Without delay after receipt of a return of the writ for an electoral district, the Chief Electoral Officer shall provide the Receiver General with a certificate that sets out

  • (a) the name of the elected candidate, if any;

  • (b) the name of any candidate who received 10% or more of the number of valid votes cast; and

  • (c) the amount that is 15% of the election expenses limit calculated under section 477.49.

• Marginal note:Payment of partial reimbursement

  (2) On receipt of the certificate, the Receiver General shall pay the amount set out in it out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund to the official agent of any candidate named in the certificate as partial reimbursement for the candidate’s election expenses, travel and living expenses that are related to travel and sojourns during the election period, accessibility expenses and personal expenses. The payment may be made to the person designated by the official agent.

• Marginal note:Return of excess payment

  (3) A candidate’s official agent shall without delay return to the Receiver General any amount received under subsection (2) that is more than the sum of

  • (a) 60% of the candidate’s paid election expenses, as set out in the their electoral campaign return,

  • (b) 60% of the candidate’s paid travel and living expenses that are related to travel and sojourns during the election period, as set out in their electoral campaign return,

  • (c) 60% of the candidate’s paid personal expenses, as set out in their electoral campaign return, other than childcare expenses or expenses referred to in paragraphs 378(1)(c) and (d),

  • (d) 90% of the candidate’s paid childcare expenses, as set out in their electoral campaign return,

  • (e) 90% of the candidate’s paid expenses referred to in paragraphs 378(1)(c) and (d), as set out in their electoral campaign return, and

  • (f) 90% — to a maximum of $5,000 — of the candidate’s paid accessibility expenses, as set out in their electoral campaign return.

Marginal note:Reimbursement — final instalment

• 477.74 (1) On receipt of the documents referred to in subsection 477.59(1), or a corrected or revised version of any of those documents, in respect of a candidate named in a certificate, the Chief Electoral Officer shall provide the Receiver General with a certificate that

  • (a) states that the Chief Electoral Officer is satisfied that the candidate and their official agent have complied with the requirements of subsection 477.56(2) and sections 477.59 to 477.71;

  • (b) states that the auditor’s report does not include a statement referred to in subsection 477.62(3);

  • (c) states that the amount received as partial reimbursement under subsection 477.73(2) is less than the sum of the amounts calculated under paragraphs (2)(a) to (f); and

  • (d) sets out the amount of the final instalment of the reimbursement of the candidate’s expenses, calculated under subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Calculation of reimbursement

  (2) The amount referred to in paragraph (1)(d) is the sum of the following, less the partial reimbursement made under section 477.73:

  • (a) 60% of the candidate’s paid election expenses, as set out in their electoral campaign return,

  • (b) 60% of the candidate’s paid travel and living expenses that are related to travel and sojourns during the election period, as set out in their electoral campaign return,

  • (c) 60% of the candidate’s paid personal expenses, as set out in their electoral campaign return, other than childcare expenses and expenses referred to in paragraphs 378(1)(c) and (d),

  • (d) 90% of the candidate’s paid childcare expenses, as set out in their electoral campaign return,

  • (e) 90% of the candidate’s paid expenses referred to in paragraphs 378(1)(c) and (d), as set out in their electoral campaign return, and

  • (f) 90% — to a maximum of $5,000 — of the candidate’s paid accessibility expenses, as set out in their electoral campaign return.

• Marginal note:Reduction of reimbursement

  (3) If a candidate’s election expenses, as set out in their electoral campaign return, exceed the election expenses limit calculated under section 477.49, the amount that is provided for in subsection (2) is reduced as follows:

  • (a) by one dollar for every dollar that exceeds the limit by less than 5%;

  • (b) by two dollars for every dollar that exceeds the limit by 5% or more but by less than 10%;

  • (c) by three dollars for every dollar that exceeds the limit by 10% or more but by less than 12.5%; and

  • (d) by four dollars for every dollar that exceeds the limit by 12.5% or more.

• Marginal note:Payment of final instalment

  (4) On receipt of the certificate, the Receiver General shall pay, out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, the amount set out in it to the candidate’s official agent. The payment may be made to the person designated by the official agent.

• Marginal note:Reimbursement

  (5) If the amount that is provided for in subsection (2) is a negative amount after being reduced under subsection (3), the candidate’s official agent shall without delay return to the Receiver General that amount — expressed as a positive number — up to the amount of the partial reimbursement received by the official agent under section 477.73.

Marginal note:Payment to candidate

477.741 The official agent shall use any amount received under subsection 477.73(2), or received under both that subsection and subsection 477.74(4), to pay to the candidate the amount that is the sum of

• (a) 60% of the candidate’s personal expenses, as set out in their electoral campaign return, other than childcare expenses and expenses referred to in paragraph 378(1)(c) or (d), that were paid other than from the bank account referred to in subsection 477.46(1), and

• (b) 90% of the total of the candidate’s childcare expenses and expenses referred to in paragraphs 378(1)(c) and (d), as set out in their electoral campaign return, that were paid other than from the bank account referred to in subsection 477.46(1).

Marginal note:Audit fee

477.75 On receipt of the documents referred to in subsection 477.59(1), including the auditor’s report, and a copy of the auditor’s invoice for the auditor’s report, the Chief Electoral Officer shall provide the Receiver General with a certificate that sets out the greater of

• (a) the amount of the expenses incurred for the audit, up to a maximum of the lesser of 3% of the candidate’s election expenses and $1,500, and

• (b) $250.

Marginal note:Payment

477.76 On receipt of the certificate, the Receiver General shall pay the amount set out in it to the auditor out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Marginal note:Inflation adjustment factor

477.761 The $1,500 amount set out in paragraph 477.75(a) and the $250 amount set out in paragraph 477.75(b) shall be multiplied by the inflation adjustment factor referred to in section 384 that is in effect on polling day.

477.77 [Repealed, 2018, c. 31, s. 303]

Marginal note:Death of candidate

477.78 If a candidate who was endorsed by a registered party dies within the period beginning at 2:00 p.m. on the fifth day before the closing day for nominations and ending on polling day,

• (a) they are deemed for the purpose of section 477.73 to receive 10% of the valid votes cast in the electoral district in which they were a candidate; and

• (b) in the certificate referred to in subsection 477.73(1) the Chief Electoral Officer shall set out, for the other candidates in that electoral district, the amount that is 22.5% of the election expenses limit calculated under section 477.49.

Marginal note:Withdrawal of writ

477.79 Division 1 of this Part and this Division apply to electoral campaign expenses of candidates in an electoral district in which a writ is withdrawn under subsection 59(1) or deemed to be withdrawn under subsection 31(3) of the Parliament of Canada Act, except that in such a case

• (a) the election is deemed to have been held on the day on which the writ is withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn; and

• (b) each candidate is deemed to have received 10% of the number of the votes that would have been validly cast at that deemed election.

Surplus of Electoral Funds

Marginal note:Surplus of electoral funds

• 477.8 (1) The surplus amount of electoral funds that a candidate receives for an election is the amount by which the candidate’s electoral revenues referred to in subsection (3) are more than the total of the candidate’s electoral campaign expenses paid from the bank account referred to in subsection 477.46(1) and the transfers referred to in subsection (4).

• Marginal note:Transfer or sale of capital assets

  (2) Before the surplus amount of electoral funds is disposed of in accordance with sections 477.81 and 477.82, a candidate’s official agent shall either transfer any capital assets whose acquisition constitutes an electoral campaign expense within the meaning of subsection 375(1) to the registered party that has endorsed the candidate — or to the registered association of that party in the candidate’s electoral district — or sell them at their fair market value.

• Marginal note:Electoral revenues

  (3) The electoral revenues of a candidate include any amount that represents

  • (a) a monetary contribution made to the candidate;

  • (b) any of the following for which the candidate was reimbursed under this Act:

    • (i) an election expense,

    • (ii) travel and living expenses,

    • (iii) an accessibility expense,

    • (iv) a personal expense paid from the bank account referred to in subsection 477.46(1), and

    • (v) a cost incurred in respect of a request or an application made under Part 14, if the cost was paid from the bank account referred to in subsection 477.46(1);

  • (c) [Repealed, 2018, c. 31, s. 305]

  • (d) the resale value of the capital assets referred to in subsection (2); and

  • (e) any other amount that was received by the candidate for their electoral campaign and that is not repayable.

• Marginal note:Exclusion

  (3.1) Despite subsection (3), for the purposes of this Act, none of the following is electoral revenue:

  • (a) any amount used to pay for a candidate’s litigation expenses that was not deposited into the bank account referred to in subsection 477.46(1);

  • (b) any amount used to pay for a candidate’s personal expenses that was not deposited into the bank account referred to in subsection 477.46(1);

  • (c) any amount paid to the candidate under this Act as a reimbursement of personal expenses that were paid other than from the bank account referred to in subsection 477.46(1); and

  • (d) any amount paid to the candidate under this Act as a reimbursement of a cost incurred in respect of a request or an application made under Part 14, if that cost was paid other than from the bank account referred to in subsection 477.46(1).

• Marginal note:Transfers

  (4) A transfer made by a candidate is a transfer of

  • (a) any funds that the candidate transfers, during the election period, to a registered party or a registered association;

  • (b) any amount of a reimbursement referred to in paragraph (3)(b) that the candidate transfers to that registered party; and

  • (c) any funds transferred by the candidate under paragraph 364(3)(d).

Marginal note:Notice of estimated surplus

• 477.81 (1) If the Chief Electoral Officer estimates that a candidate has a surplus of electoral funds, the Chief Electoral Officer shall issue a notice of the estimated amount of the surplus to the candidate’s official agent.

• Marginal note:Disposal of surplus funds

  (2) The candidate’s official agent shall dispose of a surplus of electoral funds within 60 days after the day on which they receive the notice of estimated surplus.

• Marginal note:Disposal without notice

  (3) If a candidate has a surplus of electoral funds but their official agent has not received a notice of estimated surplus, the official agent shall dispose of the surplus within 60 days after, as the case may be,

  • (a) the day on which they receive the final instalment of the reimbursement of the candidate’s expenses; or

  • (b) the day on which the Chief Electoral Officer is provided with the candidate’s electoral campaign return, if the candidate did not receive the reimbursement mentioned in paragraph (a).

Marginal note:Method of disposal of surplus

477.82 A candidate’s official agent shall dispose of surplus electoral funds by transferring them

• (a) in the case of a candidate who was endorsed by a registered party, to that party or to the registered association of that party in the candidate’s electoral district; or

• (b) in any other case, to the Receiver General.

Marginal note:Notice of disposal of surplus

• 477.83 (1) A candidate’s official agent shall, within seven days after disposing of a candidate’s surplus electoral funds, give the Chief Electoral Officer a notice in the prescribed form of the amount and date of the disposal and to whom the surplus was transferred.

• Marginal note:Publication

  (2) As soon as feasible after the disposal of a candidate’s surplus electoral funds, the Chief Electoral Officer shall publish the notice in any manner that he or she considers appropriate.

Marginal note:Requisition for repayment

• 477.84 (1) An official agent who has disposed of a candidate’s surplus electoral funds under paragraph 477.82(b) and must subsequently pay an electoral campaign expense of the candidate may apply to the Chief Electoral Officer for repayment in an amount that is not more than the lesser of the amount of the subsequent payment and the amount of the surplus electoral funds.

• Marginal note:Repayment

  (2) On receipt of a request for payment from the Chief Electoral Officer in relation to an application, the Receiver General shall pay the amount specified in the application to the official agent out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.